Folding box.



J. L. CLARK.

FOLDING BOX. APPLICATION FILED MAR.10,1910.

Patented Aug. 1, 1911.-

. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. L. CLARK.

APPLICATION FILED MABJO, 1910.

LDING BOX.

Patented Aug. 1

2 BHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. CLARK, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

FOLDING BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent. \V Patented Aug. 1, 1911- Applicationfiled March 10, 1910. Serial No. 548,358.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it-known that I, JOHN L. CLARK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois,have invented certam new and useful Im rovements in Folding Boxes, ofwhich the ollowing is a specification.

One of the objects of this invention is to produce a collapsible box,for example, a

lunch box, which shall be rigid throughout when set up and not liable toaccidental collapse.

Another object of the invention is to provide a box which may be foldedinto a very compact and neat package.

Another object of-the invention is to provide im roved means forsecuring together arts 0 the box when colla sed so that the x cannotaccidentally un old. Other objectsand advantages will become apparent asthe invention is better understood from the following detaileddescription.

In the acoompanying'drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing acollapsible lunch box embodying the features of my ,in-'

vention, said box being set up ready for use.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the box collapsed. Fig. 3 1s atransverse vertical cen- 80 tral section through the box. Fig. 4 is ahorizontal fragmentary section on line 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is asectional view illustrating a certain locking means. Fig. 6 is afragments-l perspective view showing the means for holding the loweredge of the end wall in place. Fig. 7 is a fragmental perspective viewof a forward end of one of the end walls showin the means for engagingthe upper edge 0 said end wall with the front wall. Fig. 8 is afragmentary view of one of the side walls, showing a locking openingtherein.

The present embodiment of my invention comprises a bottom wall 1, twoside walls,

which, for convenience, are herein termed a front wall 2 and a rear wall3, and two end walls 4 hinged, in this instance, to the rear wall 3. Theloweredge of the front wall 2 is hinged to the bottom wall 1 in anypreferred way, as by forming barrels 5 upon the lower edge of said frontwall, said barrels extending through openings 6 formed in the bottomwall between the side edges thereof. The barrels 5 are adapted toreceive asuitable pintlc 7 lying beneath said bottom wall. Th rear. wall3 is hinged to the bottom wall in anmanner similar to the front wall 2,each of said front and rear walls being bent adjacent its hinged edge toprovide flan es 8 arranged to'rest upon the ottom we and thus limit theoutward movement of the side walls.

- The end walls 4 are hinged at one end to the rear wall 3 in anysuitable manner and are adapted to fold against said rear wall when thebox is collapsed. Means is provided for securing the outer end of theend walls 4 in operative position, said means in this instancecomprising upstanding pins 9 in the bottom wall behind which the loweredge of the end walls are adapted to lie. The pins 9 are preferablyformed by bending upwardly the ends of the pintle 7, said endsprojecting through the bottom wall 1. The up er forward corners of saidend walls are hel in place by means of hooks 10 thereon adapted toengage the up er ends of barrels 11 forming inturned Manges upon theends of the front wall 2. 1n the present instance, the hooks 10 arecontinuations of the pintles of the hinges for the end walls, the wireforming said pintles being bent to extend along the upper edge of theend walls I 4 and the upper edges of said end walls being bent toinclose the wire, as shown in Fig. 7. Curved flanges 4 on the end wallsare arranged to fit about the barrels 11 and assist in preventingfurther outward movement of said end walls. Upturned flanges 12 at eachedge of the bottom wall 1 also serve to limit the outward unfoldingmovement of the walls 2, 3 and 4.

The cover .13 has downwardly extending flanges 14 at each edge and saidflanges may be stifl'ened if desired by means of a wire 15, the edges ofsaid flanges being curled to inclose said wire. The connection betweenthe cover and the box comprises'a rod 16 rotatably mounted in a bearing17 in this instance on the upper edge of the rear wall 3, said rodhaving arms 18 at its ends which are pivotally secured to the cover nearits middle portion. The length of the arms 18 is substantially one-halfthe width ofthe box, so that. when said arms are swung downwardly overthe box, the lid will be in position to cover said box. A suitablehandle 19 may be secured to the lid in any preferred manner.

In the present instance means-is provided for locking the cover 13 tothe front and rear walls 2 and 3 when the box is set up,

locking openings 20 in said front and rear walls being adapted toreceive the intnrned ends of spring latches 21 fixed to opposite flanges14.- upon the cover. Openings 22 are provided in the flanges 12 at thesides of the bottom wall, said openings being adapted to receive thespring latches 21 when the box is completely folded, as shown in Fig. 2,thereby locking the cover and bottom wall together.

Assuming the box to be in the position shown in Fig. 1, and it isdesired to collapse the box, the end walls 4 are raised slightly awayfrom the bottom wall so as to bring their lower edges above heupstanding ins 9 and withdraw the hooks 10 from the arrels 11. The endwalls may now be swung inwardly to lie against the rear wall 3. Thefront wall 2 is then swung downwardly against the bottom wall, and therear wall together with the end walls secured thereto is folded over ontop of the front wall 2. It will be understood that the flange 8 uponthe rear wall is of sufficientwidth to permit said rear wall to lie flatover the folded end walls and front wall. All of said walls are thusfolded together into a very compact bundle. The cover 13 may now befitted over the upturned flanges 12 on the bottom wall to inclose theside and end walls, and

' the spring latches 21 will engage in the openings 22 in the upturnedflanges of the bottom wall. The box is now securely locked in itscollapsed position and will not accidentally unfold. In adjusting thecover 13 to fit over the parts of the box in their col-v lapsedposition, the pivot arms 18 are swung in the opposite direction from theposition shown in Fig. 3, said arms lying adjacent the outer side of therear wall 3 when the box is completely collapsed.

As will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 2, the folded box in additionto being compact is neat in appearance, the flanges 12 and 14 upon thebottom wall and the cover overlapping to hide the folded side walls fromview.

The invention is not limited to the exact details herein shown anddescribed, for various modifications will occur to those skilled in theart.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a folding box, in combination, a bottom wall having upturnedflanges thereon, side walls and end walls hinged to fold downwardlyagainst said bottom wall, a cover having flanges arranged to telescopewith the flanges on said bottom wall when the box is collapsed, saidcover flanges and bottom wall flanges havingopenings therein adapted toregister, and said side walls having openings near their upper edgesadapted to register with the openings in the cover flanges, and springlatches secured to the outer sides of said cover flanges,

adapted to extend through the registering openings in the cover flangesand the flanges on said bottom wall for locking the cover to the bottomwall when the box is folded.

2. In a folding box in combination, a bot "tom wall, side walls hin edthereto, end

walls each hinged at one e go to one of said side walls, the other ofsaid side walls having a reinforcing barrel at each end thereof, areinforcing wire at the upper edge of each of said end walls, said wiresterminating in downwardly projecting hooks adapted to engage in theupper ends of said barrels for locking'the upper edges of said end wallsand side walls together, and means for preventing movement of the loweredges of said end walls.

3. In a folding box, in combination, a bottom wall; side walls hingedthereto; end

walls each hinged at one edge to one of said side walls, the other ofsaid side walls having a barrel at each end thereof; a hook upon thefree edge of each of said end walls adapted to enter one of saidbarrels; curved flanges upon the free edges of said end walls adapted tofit about said barrels and prevent outward movement of said end walls;and pins in said bottom wall arranged to engage the lower edges of saidend walls and prevent inward movement of said end walls.

4. In a folding box, in combination, a bottom wall having a series ofopenings therein; a front 'wall having a series of hinge barrels at itslower edge extending through said openings, a pintle running throughsaid barrels beneath said bottom wall, the ends of said pintle beingbent upwardly and projecting through said bottom wall to form "stoppins, intnrned flanges at the side edges of said front wall, a rear wallhinged to said bottom wall, end walls hinged to said rear wall, the freeedges of said end walls engaging said front wallflanges for preventingoutward movement of said end walls, and interlocking means at the upperedges of said end walls and front wall, the lower edges of said endwalls lying between said front wall flanges and said stop pins.

5. In a folding box, in combination, a bottom wall; a front wall hingedthereto and adapted to fold downwardly against said bottom wall; a rearwall hinged to said bottom wall; end walls hinged to said rear wall andarranged to fold laterally against said rear wall, said rear wall andend walls being arranged to fold downwardly over the front wall, saidrear wall being bent to provide a flange adjacent its hinged edge, so asto permit said rear wall to lie flat upon the other walls; and a coverfor the box.

6. In a folding lunch box, in combination,

a bottom wall having upturned flanges at its edges; a front wall and arear wall hinged to said bottom wall on lines between the sides of saidbottom wall, said front and rear walls being bent adjacent their hingededges to provide flanges adapted to engage the bottom wall and limit theoutward movement of the front and rear Walls; end walls hinged to saidrear wall and arranged to fold laterally against said rear wall,interengaging means on said end walls and said front wall, the upturnedflanges on said bottom wall serving to limit outward move ment of saidside and end Walls, said -rear wall and end walls being arranged tofolddownwardly over said front Wall; a cover hinged to the upper edge ofsaid rear wall;

downturned flanges on said cover adapted to telescope with said bottomwall flanges when the box is collapsed; and means for securing saidflanges together.

7. A folding box comprising a bottom, side members and end members,certain of said side members being hinged to said bottom at pointsbetween the edgesiof said bottom, and being bent near their lower edgesto provide flanges adapted to engage the bottom and limit the outwardmovement of said members, and a cover for the box.

JOHN L. CLARK.

Witnesses En. M. LEE, M. 0. LEE.

